How can headings and subheadings help you locate key ideas quickly in nonfiction text?

• A. They are decorative elements.
• B. They provide unrelated details.
• C. They reorder the content unpredictably.
• D. They preview content, indicate topic shifts, and organize information for skimming.

Answer: (D)

Headings and subheadings act as navigation cues in nonfiction. They preview what each section will cover and signal when the topic shifts, helping you see where the main ideas and their details are likely to appear. This makes skimming efficient because you can jump straight to the parts that discuss the key points. Decorative elements don’t guide you to ideas, unrelated details won’t help you locate main points, and content isn’t typically reordered unpredictably by headings. So, using headings and subheadings to map the text helps you locate important information quickly.